Businesses in the area are counting the cost of flooding and weeks of bad weather.

One in four small businesses expect their turnover to be hit by floods and there are calls for firms to receive help with insurance.

The Government has announced a package of financial help for business and big companies have stepped in to offer assistance.

Businesses in the Reading area have suffered both directly and indirectly as a result of storms and floods over the last few weeks.

Reading Gate Retail Park, which is home to major retailers including B&Q, TK Maxx and Currys/PC World, was forced to close on Sunday, February 9, due to flooding and could not open again until the following Wednesday.

Businesses near the river, including London Street Brasserie, in Duke Street, have suffered flooding while others, like Mya Lacarte, were indirectly affected by power cuts caused by flooding.

The closure of Sonning Bridge and other major roads caused serious traffic congestion in Caversham and the town centre, affecting business and costing Reading Buses a record 400 lost travelling miles in just one day.

Flooding of railside signalling in Maidenhead decimated train services between Reading and Paddington and in Oxford making it virtually impossible for commuters to get into work for days.

Businesses stepped in to help with Regus, for example, offering free access to its office lounges to business people affected by the floods, up to this Friday.

Reading West MP Alok Sharma asked about help for businesses and individuals during Prime Minister’s Question Time in the Commons last week.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced £5,000 repair and renew grants for affected businesses, 100 per cent business rate relief for businesses affected by flooding and a total commitment of £750 million from the major banks to provide financial support to businesses and individuals affected by flooding.

Mr Cameron unveiled a further £10 million business support scheme on Monday to provide hardship funding for SME (small and medium enterprises) in areas affected by floods.

David Knowles, Thames Valley regional chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), welcomed the support scheme but called for small businesses to be included in a new insurance scheme called Flood Re.

He said: “FSB research shows one in five small firms were affected by flooding last year alone and obviously this year threatens to be even higher.

“If the Government doesn’t add small businesses in areas at risk to this scheme, many will be forced to pay exorbitantly high costs to be insured against this threat and some may struggle to do so.”

More information on the Government schemes is available online at www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-help-communities-hit-by-flooding.